Turkish authorities make arrest in death of tourist mother from NYC

[NBCNews]

  Sierra family via EPA fileA undated family handout photograph shows US tourist Sarai Sierra. Reports state that Sarai Sierra who was on holiday alone in Istanbul was killed by at least one fatal blow to her head.By Jonathon Burch, ReutersANKARA — Turkish  police have arrested the suspected killer of a tourist from New York whose whose body was found in Istanbul earlier this year, a provincial  governor's office said.

Follow @NBCNewsWorld The suspect, identified by the initials Z.T. and nicknamed Laz Ziya by  Turkish media, was arrested in Reyhanli in Turkey's southern Hatay  province near the border with Syria, the provincial governor's office  said on its website.

The body of 33-year-old Sarai Sierra, a married mother of two from Staten Island, was found in the  ruins of Istanbul's old city wall last  month after she was first reported  missing in late January.

Sierra, who had  been traveling alone, was  killed by a blow to the head.

After questioning Sunday, the man was handed over to judicial authorities, the governor's office said. It gave no further details.

Sierra's killing has attracted wide media attention the U.S. and in Turkey, a country which  receives millions of tourists each year and is generally seen as a safe  destination for foreign travelers.

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